


Not empty seat, nor empty space

by kobattsun



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, M/M, Pre-Slash, bus ride, everything is awkward, feelings are gross
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 13:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6755287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobattsun/pseuds/kobattsun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A seat in the back of the bus and an empty spot is the ending point that Semi reaches at the end of the day.</p>
<p>(or, bus rides are terrible to talk about future or feelings)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not empty seat, nor empty space

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I wanted to post this for Tensemi day, but I couldn't finish in time.  
> So yeah, it's pre-slash. And you if you don't know the result of Karasuno-Shiratorizawa match, it's spoiler.  
> It's stupid and probably awkward, and tbh I'm not even sure if it's more embarassing the obvious crush of Tendou for Semi, Eita's obliviousness, or the fact that they are high school students behaving like first graders.
> 
> (as always, thank to my painfulmatsu for being my beta)

A seat in the back of the bus and an empty spot is the ending point that Semi reaches at the end of the day.

Losing against Karasuno was not a foreseen in its entirety hypothesis when he came out of the bed that morning, and when he drops onto the seat next to the window he realizes that this was neither. Surely not seeing Tsutomu crying, Kawanishi clenching his fists, Wakatoshi missing the opportunity to go to the Nationals. Nor hearing the driver that turns on the bus and knowing that the sooner he won’t have anything to do with the school gym.

It’s probably for this that loneliness is now much more comfortable: Eita is not arrogant enough to pretend not to know to being unable to offer comfort to someone if he isn’t the first to feel good about the situation itself.

His adventure at Shiratorizawa is over and there are no fireworks or colored festoons to the arrival point, but only a new and white line in the distance, another starting point that still seems under construction; it’s in progress, but not defined, with a road that’s lost in the middle of a track you can’t see the end of.

For a moment, he asks himself if he’s the only one to have a foggy road in front of him, but he doesn’t want to ask the others and rush things.

Semi will have all of the opportunities he wants from tomorrow onwards, many hours no longer engaged by the volleyball club and that perhaps he’d better spend studying for university entrance exams if he want to pass.

Eita opens his eyes only when he feels a slight pressure in the seat next to him, bending his head enough to see Satori’s profile under his fringe. The boy has his head resting against the back of the seat and his fingers drumming at a rapid pace on his knees.

Semi doesn’t utter a word; for once he is too tired to ask where the teammate is pulling out all this energy after a game from, especially considering the low physical endurance that he shows during workouts – energy lost in all that hypothetical secret technique, under the curses and the balls thrown at him by Washijou.

But it isn’t the exhaustion to prevent the setter to stare at him for a good five minutes, or to stop the other to realize it. The pace of Tendou’s fingers loses a right note in the very moment he turns to look at him: there’s curiosity in his grin, "What’s whit that face?"

"Uh, it's just that I thought ...", the setter winks; _I thought you’d be sitting next to Wakatoshi_. He doesn’t say it out loud, but takes it for granted: supporting Ushijima is their main task, an unspoken promise that they third year have learned better than the others.

So he moves his gaze in front of him, wondering if the spot next to their captain has already been taken – Reon, maybe? Or maybe Shirabu. Shirabu is always so politely pushy – but Goshiki’s head resting on Hayato’s shoulder covers his vision, and from his position is almost impossible to see.

"…Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” He finishes, composing himself against the back of the seat, and despite doing everything to ignore Tendou’s gaze, it remains fixed on him.

Neither of them talks for a while, and while he is distracted from looking out of the window, Satori keeps improvising some kind of melody. There is silence, but Eita is not relaxed at all.

Some voices come from the front seats, all are subdued. No one wants to deal with the coach when he’s nervous, and to be honest, no one is in the mood for revelry.

It’s the moment the setter realizes that this is the last time he will have the chance to see the team from this perspective that he feels a sudden grip to his heart.

"I wanted to stay longer on the court," Semi suddenly admits to no one in particular, and saying it doesn’t give him the impression of feeling freer at all; it's more like being crushed by a mound of brick above him, and saying it in a loud voice makes the remaining time in the team appearing too overwhelming and real. It’s like the clock had begun to tick too quickly and without giving any advice: Eita feels like a runner who stays motionless at the starting line, taken aback by the starting signal. He would like to repeat the scene again.

He’d like to have more time.

"I wish I could have been more useful for the team."

Satori doesn’t laugh this time, because although he’s an annoying idiot, he’s an annoying idiot with a great sense of observation. He knows when he can’t cross the line, in part for respect for the others – and in part for personal preservation.

"You shouldn’t think so, I guess. It’s true that you've been replaced by Shirabu. It’s true that Shirabu’s playing style is more suitable than yours with Wakatoshi. And it’s also true that you have a terrible fashion sense.” He laughs and Semi ponders to nudge him to the side. "But you always stay true to yourself, whatever the situation is. For what it's worth, I find that this part of you is almost cool."

Eita freezes, uncertain whether it is appropriate to thank him – was it a compliment? –, and he merely blinks as he watches Satori’s fingers slow down their pace on the fabric of his pants. Then the middle blocker speaks again. "Do you have any regret?"

"What?"

"I said, do you have any regret?"

The setter looks at him, puzzled, and it’s only the seriousness into his friend’s eyes to make him understand that for once Tendou Satori is asking a serious question.

_Does he have any regrets?_

Thinking clearly he knows that he has given all he could give, because Semi is aware of his potential and the responsibilities of his role.

He gave everything he could and it was not enough, and if Eita thinks rationally he cannot help but feeling a raging jealousy burning in his chest; it feels like anger, but it’s more intense and presses against his sternum until it hurts.

"I'm not sure," he frowns staring at the seat in front of him. "I don’t think so. I don’t regret the choices I made, nor the school I chose, and I am proud of the teammates that I have found."

"Ah, but we would all be ready to follow Wakatoshi-kun to the end of the world! Your answer is predictable!"

"As if I had to apologize for this!" He replies stiffly, but he’s laughing when he elbows him straight in the ribs, gaining a groan from the other.

When Tendou pulls his nose, in response he pinches his side, and when Satori jumps when tickled, Semi pulls his hair. Eventually they are forced to stop, covering each other's mouth, chuckling, in an attempt to shut up and hoping Washijou doesn’t come to scolds them as first graders.

It’s always been easier to communicate with Satori with gestures more than words, since their first meeting, because he’s never clear and sometimes Eita has the feeling of not being able to see him in the right way.

"And you? Do you have any regrets?” He asks while recomposing, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand.

"You mean, besides the fact of not being able to complete my secret technique?"

"I thought you had given up on making _Shooting Star_ a viable technique."

"And who told you I was talking about that!"

Eita snorts composing his previously disheveled bangs, and must refrain from lengthening his hand to fix the other’s messy hair too. Composing Satori’s fringe and pull his cheeks until he asks for mercy, that's what Eita should definitely do.

Neither of them speak for a while and the bus’ movement makes the setter want to close his eyes and sleep. He should follow the example of Goshiki and Hayato, sitting in front of him, with their abandoned heads that dangle at every jolt of the bus: sleeping surely would be wise before the extra training that expect them when coming back to Shiratorizawa.

Yet Semi finds himself shifting his focus on Tendou once again. He has closed eyes and his head is resting perfectly against the back of the seat, fingers now moving at a slow pace and with very relaxing movements.

"You didn’t answer me, anyway."

"Mh?" He murmurs in barely audible volume.

"About the regrets."

"That’s not true, I answered you."

"I mean, for real."

His response is enough exasperated to attract the other’s attention, and he opens one eye to observe him before stretching like a cat in the sun.

"No." he finally responds, "I wouldn’t change anything. I enjoyed the time I spent in this team.", he pauses for a second before pouting "And now that we’ll graduate it will be so boring! I won’t have any underclass to bother anymore, I'll have to study seriously and people will start to ask me to act like an adult!", he concludes shaking hands, " _Unbelievable!_ "

"Don’t be a defeatist, I don’t think anyone really expect to see you becoming a responsible adult."

"Wow, this was very rude—!" he replays, bringing his hands to his chest with an hurt expression, "But considering your average grades, I appreciate your optimis—OUCH! I'll cut it out, I'll cut it out! Stop being so violent, damn it!"

Semi crosses his arms over his chest as he watches Satori rubbing his elbow with a childish expression, then he sighs, annoyed. "Anyway, what you said is not true, we can come to visit the team when we have free time, you know."

At this Tendou suddenly stops and looks at him puzzled.

"Uh, well, of course we will have a lot of commitments and responsibilities... and... Wakatoshi will be busy with the national juvenile and probably we won’t live all in the same zone..." Eita blinks, and must try hard to convince himself that has no reason to feel uncomfortable, because he didn’t say anything stupid. "But... visiting the school and seeing how they are doing would be a good idea. I'm sure Tsuromu would be happy. Even Kawanishi. Probably Shirabu too." He reflects a moment, "I guess."

Neither of them says anything after that, and it takes a good couple of minutes before the other gives sign of understanding, straightening his shoulders and nodding, "Okay."

"Why do you look surprised by this?"

"I'm not surprised." He hastens to say, but then hesitates. "It's just that I wasn’t expecting that."

At this Eita frowns and wrinkles his nose "You weren’t expecting what?" He asks, puzzled, and he leans towards Satori, enough to feel the other's breath tickling his face – maybe too much, considering his sudden change of expression –, "That I want to go out with you?"

"Huh."

"Huh?"

The middle blocker averts his gaze, and Eita gets the impression that the tips of Tendou’s ears are far more red than they were a few seconds before.

"Don’t put it this way, please." He reply, hazy, almost exasperated, and now the setter is really confused: he absolutely doesn’t understand why Satori should think that he or any of them would want to stop seeing him or not being his friend anymore only because they no longer attend the same school.

The journey continues, quiet, and there is silence. Even the whispers coming from the front rows went off together with the sun behind the horizon, and now the idea to rest a bit seems more tempting than before.

The glass of the window is cold when Eita rests his temple against it, gaze lost on the road.

Perhaps Satori is right. Maybe, despite all their good intentions, they eventually will lost sight of them after graduation.

It would be realistic, much more adult-like and defeatist than someone would have expected from someone like Tendou.

But reconsidering it again and again, Eita doesn’t think it’s important. If he thinks about the future he cannot imagine it without any of them, even stupid things like Hayato losing his cell phone, or Reon scolding them, or even Shirabu irritating him.

He doesn’t want to think that there will be a tomorrow when he will sit on a bus and the seat nearby will remain empty.

So, Eita decides, he will continue to go on and they will continue to be tied. And Satori will have to live with this, willing or not – with his presence and the others’.

Eita is about to doze off when he feels a slight pressure against his side, and he doesn’t even have to turn around to know that it’s precisely his teammate.

Tendou has his face buried into the crook of his neck and Semi finds himself with his cheek tickled by his hair.

"Are you sleeping?"

He asks, plan, and to be honest he doesn’t expect a real answer, so he’s genuinely surprised when the other grumbles something unintelligible that sounds like _Yes, I'm sleeping_.

The setter lets him sink his face deeper against him, doesn’t resist to the weight against his shoulder and allows himself to observe what he can manage to of Satori. Then he gently runs a hand through his stupid, red hair, and loosening hair knots with his fingers comes natural, almost pleasant.

It's relaxing, he reflects, and for a moment the defeat, the approaching of graduation and the unfolding of the future seem too far away to even touch him.

Eita allows himself to close eyes, he rests his temple against Satori’s head and decides that for now it’s not the case of rushing time.

When will come the time to deal with all of that, he will think about it.

But until that moment, knowing that the seat next him is not empty is enough.

**Author's Note:**

> does it even have a sense, i don't know


End file.
